For years, libraries have helped bridge the digital divide by offering internet access at brick-and-mortar branches. Many are expanding this mission by offering patrons mobile Wi-Fi hotspots for checkout. New York City launched a program this year that provides 10,000 mobile hotspots to patrons across three library systems, and in 2014, Chicago Public Library rolled … Continue reading Bridging the Tech Gap
The session, sponsored by the Library Information and Technology Association, offered two examples of public libraries that are experimenting with lending Wi-Fi hotspots to users in high-need communities in an effort to close the broadband adoption gap. Swarthout began the session by explaining how NYPL came to be a lender of Wi-Fi hotspots. He cited … Continue reading Closing the Gap
Emanuel used the event to announce that Chicago Public Library (CPL) had just received a $400,000 grant from the Knight Foundation for its Internet to Go program, which will allow library patrons in six neighborhood branches where digital access is low to check out Wi-Fi hotspot devices for three weeks at a time. The grant … Continue reading Creativity and Play at the Next Library Conference
